Some of you may disagree with me, but

[brightbluegirl]

I am going to go on content strike as of 5pm my time, for 24 hours. I won't post, comment, or, if I can, even log in.

I am also seriously thinking of leaving lj.

One of the things I liked about lj was that it wasn't in-your-face about the money. It's changed a lot, and I'd rather pay for something from the get-go then to have a company try to force me to pay for something (or to endorse advertisements to "pay my way", and since I'm not so big on the capitalism to begin with, that's not for me). I really liked lj because it understood the worth of the free user (the browser, if you will). Now, it seems, they don't.

I also liked that you could say what you wanted, when you wanted to. Now, that's changing too. I don't like that you can't talk easily about sex, or sexuality, or whatever you may wish to talk about. I may disagree with many things people talk about, but I absolutely do respect their right to free speech.

I'll miss lj, and I imagine I'll lose at least half of my readers (never mind those who I read) when I move, but I feel it's the right thing to do. I have no faith that SUP will do anything to rectify these issues, and it's a shame that I don't have a paid account, since then my leaving would actually register on them.

For more info on why I'm going on strike, read here:

http://danahboyd.livejournal.com/1396.html
http://brad.livejournal.com/2368071.html

EDIT: I should mention that, although a content strike isn't my first choice of action, it's what a large number of people have already set up, and since I don't have the energy or time to set up something with more oompth, I'll support them. I agree with the folks who think that strikes of this sort don't get the point across, and aren't as useful as we'd like them to be.

And yes, I'll tell everyone on my friends list what my new journal is. :)

Comments

[zaftigvegan.livejournal.com]

i'm really befuddled by this whole thing. i understand that they took away the creation of new, free, "basic" accounts without notifying anyone, and i can dig on that outrage. but what's the harm exactly in a business like LJ trying to make money off of what it does? it's always been that way, too, even when brad started it. (i know, i know, he says they only made enough in the early days to run it at no profit, but he sold it for a nice chunk of change pretty much as soon as the offer got juicy enough).

also, i am still writing about sex and sexuality lots here, with no trouble? i mean, yeah, that little screen click-through is kind of irritating but it really is just a simple click.

where are you going to move to?

[freakykitten.livejournal.com]

I'll probably go to my own domain and set up a blog there. I'll be sure to tell everyone where it is then.

And I think there's a difference between "making money" and "being greedy and requiring that every user make you money in a quantifiable way".

The sex thing just appears that it's being censored more and more. Some items are being removed from the interests lists, for example, and there's concen that homosexual content will be censored next, too.

[zaftigvegan.livejournal.com]

those interest removals were all brought back - they said it was a 'technical glitch'. i read about it over at firefox news (http://firefox.org/news/articles/1308/1/Editorial-Missing-Interests-and-Planned-User-Strike-on-Livejournal/Page1.html). (some good follow up stuff in the 'related stories' links at the bottom too.)

anyway, totally not trying to argue with you about it, just trying to gain some balanced perspective. in my experience LJ users ALWAYS freak out about change to the site. it lasts for a while, then dies down and things go back to "normal".

oh, and btw, i'll be a dedicated freakykitten reader til the day you stop writing. :)

[freakykitten.livejournal.com]

That same news thing mentions that there was nipple-gate, which I didn't know about, and just solidifies my wish to leave. :/ Thanks for the link though, I'm glad to hear the interests came back.

I don't necessarily agree with a content-strike, which I should edit my post to state, but, since this seems to be what a majority is doing, and since I don't have the energy or time to organize something else, I'll support them, but I'll also do my own thing, which is find somewhere else to go.

[ungratefulninja.livejournal.com]

Fundamentally, LJ makes its money two ways:

1. By providing a meeting place for people. This is something they actively do.

2. By selling access to content. This is something they don't even pay for, never mind do themselves.

The outrage over this seems to be mostly based on that second point: the assertion has been batted around that the majority of the content on LJ is written by users with Basic accounts; it sounds plausible, but it hasn't really been documented very well and LJ themselves aren't talking.

I don't really care what people decide to do about staying on LJ vs. going elsewhere, as I abandoned friends lists almost a year ago in favour of RSS so that I could integrate LJ as well as various other personal blogs I read into a single "super friends list" page for myself. If someone moves, and they leave a pointer to their new blog, I can update my RSS reader and carry on my way.

[veinsexplode.livejournal.com]

what do you mean you can't easily talk about sex or sexuality?

i will follow you! i am thinking of moving as well but mostly because i'm tired of lj and feel i've quite out-grown it.

[freakykitten.livejournal.com]

Well, there is some censorship now, and apparently breastfeeding icons are considered porn, along with other things. It's not so much that I talk about sex/sexuality, as that I want other people to have that right.

There was another concern about missing interests (like faeries, etc), but those were replaced, and stated as a "technical error".

[tedshubris.livejournal.com]

For my understanding of the issue, it's kind of a non-dilemma.

http://azurecobalt.livejournal.com/612619.html

[freakykitten.livejournal.com]

I'm not authorized to view that. :/

[pfloide.livejournal.com]

Understandable, though do let us know where you move to - my main reason for getting on LJ in the first place was to stay in touch with remote friends. I've considered quitting it for other reasons in the past, but absent a good substitute, haven't bothered.

[individual75293.livejournal.com]

I agree the main reason I'm on here is to (poorly) keep in contact with friends (remote or no).

I never heard that free basic accounts are no longer available. Basically this has severely limited the set of friends I have from growing. When I make new friends, am I really going to ask them to pay money so they can access a journal I rarely post to?

I seems really weird to me that they would make this move when a social network gets its value from the size of the network.

[pfloide.livejournal.com]

Yeah - I really don't think the new owners understand the nature of their product, or their customers. But, that granted, I'm also not sure there's a viable business model for being the intermediary in an actual social network (as opposed to one concocted to suit business needs). Though, as I've said elsewhere, I can envision a use for P2P social networking systems - supporting something vaguely like this site, on the back of something in a zone between RSS aggregator and file-sharing network... Then the actual business model would be the ISP selling network access - end of story. So the software could actually be devoted to doing what the user wants it to.

[mahogany.livejournal.com]

If you do move, be sure to drop me a line so I can keep reading. I'll probably set up an RSS.

I've totally liked getting to know you online and the couple of times that we've met IRL. It's a shame that our lives don't seem to intersect, so I don't really get many chances to see you in person.

[freakykitten.livejournal.com]

Well, I think we should try to rectify that!

I think what it might be is that I'm more computer-based, and you're more phone-based, and I hate the phone, so I avoid calling people (although I always answer the phone when my hands are not full of baby).

Anyway, I enjoy talking to you too (when I can hear you!) and your children are delightful.

You'd think things would work out better for us, especially since we are both (relatively) available during the day... do the kids like parks? Now that it's nicer, maybe we could meet at a park soon?

[mahogany.livejournal.com]

Yes, I agree!

How does your week look next week? Friday mornings are usually good for me...

[freakykitten.livejournal.com]

My next week looks great after Wednesday - Friday morning is superb! Also, I have access to a car now (we joined the car co-op), but I haven't quite figured out how to go pick up a car when I'm alone with the baby. Heh. I need a second set of arms for the carseat!

[big-paul.livejournal.com]

Totally let me know if you're setting up another one. I've been meaning to get my own domain at some point, anyway.

Even aside from the "breastfeeding == porn" debacle, this seems like a spectacularly dumb idea. Typical of modern companies, they see "Gasp! We have X number of thousands of people who are getting a free ride! Imagine how much more we'd make if every free account turned to an ad-supported one!?"

Except, as everyone does when focused on that sort of hypothetical windfall, they're assuming you can change one thing and have everything else stay the same.

Eating the seed corn.

Say you got a paid account. I'd say 1 in 10 of my friends have a paid account. So if you're the guy with a paid account, and 7 or 8 or 9 out of 10 of your friends leave LJ, why should you bother?

[freakykitten.livejournal.com]

Thank you, you said that very well.

[big-paul.livejournal.com]

Well, thank YOU for saying so!

Ya see? This is the type of 'free content' that you and I are providing.

This is just typical industry/business "short-term/chasing the share price" thinking.

If you're a top exec., and you have an idea that will double the share price in six months, but guarantee the company will be out of business in 5 years, well, why not do it? In 5 years, you'll probably be somewhere else...

[freakykitten.livejournal.com]

Thank you!!

[hokahey.livejournal.com]

man... it would be so much more fun to all write about sex for 24 hours than nothing. ha.

and yeah, there's apparently a way to upload your whole of livejournal to wordpress.
but i doubt i'll leave livejournal. i like it too much.

[pheloniusfriar.livejournal.com]

I too have been considering leaving LJ. It's a combination the LJ feel changing to one that is too heavily commercial and the fact that so many of my friends have gone to other content sites already. I guess I also have things I want to say that don't seem to get much traction here (never really have to be honest... mostly my philosophical and political musings...). Please let me know where you end up, and I'll keep people tuned in on what my eventual plans are as well. Sadly, after so many years, I don't think it will be LJ much longer...